Inclusive Teaching Toolkit

Inclusive teaching refers to pedagogy that strives to serve the diverse needs of all students, no matter their background, social identities, or prior educational experiences. The goal is to support student engagement with the course material using evidence-based, equity-minded, and accessible instructional practices. Here we provide resources to support instructors in their efforts to both incorporate diverse perspectives into the curriculum and also to create a welcoming, student-centered classroom climate.

Learn more about UIC's Inclusive Education Scholars Certificate Program

Building Blocks for Inclusive Classrooms

Checklist: Inclusive Teaching Strategies

Teaching practices and curricular approaches to create welcoming and inclusive classrooms.
Quick Guide: Inclusive Syllabus Design

Guidelines for creating a meaningful syllabus to foster an inclusive classroom.
Checklist: Building Community

Strategies to create a sense of belonging and foster community connections in online classrooms.
Checklist: Accessible Teaching & Accommodations

Best practices to make online courses more inclusive for all, and in particular, for students with disabilities.
Self-check: Advancing Inclusion & Antiracism

Resource guide providing instructors ideas and options to progressively modify a course.
Checklist: Culturally-Responsive Instruction

Diagnostic tool to help instructors consider students' socio-cultural differences in instruction.

Integrating Accessibility into Your Teaching at UIC

Accessibility Considerations for Remote Access

"Best Practices for Accessible Remote Access" highlights many valuable articles and resource compilations.
Accessible Teaching & Accommodations

Best practices to make online courses more inclusive for all, and in particular, for students with disabilities.
DRC Accommodations Guide

Explains reasonable accommodations and students' rights.
DRC Referral Resources

Offers tips for referring students to the Disability Resource Center (DRC) for accommodations.
DCC Resources for Accessible Teaching

View a curated list of resources for access-centered pedagogy in the "Teaching Resources" section on the DCC site.
Guide to Online Captioning

Explains Zoom auto-transcription and how to set up captioning for live sessions.
Accessibility Policies

Review and understand university policies regarding technology.

Curated articles supporting inclusive and accessible teaching

Is Active Learning Accessible? Exploring the Process of Providing Accommodations to Students with Disabilities

Article by L.E. Gin and colleagues (2020) published in CBE-Life Sciences Education 19(4): es12. This article usefully mines the familiarity that disability service providers have with accessibility issues that can crop up in the classroom. Focused on active learning strategies in science classrooms, this research lists common access barriers, suggesting ways to design into these practices from the start.

Link to article: https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.20-03-0049

Gender Identity in Higher Education: Recommendations for Campus Information Systems

This paper by Larry Borgione and colleagues (2018) published in EDUCAUSE recommends modern identity specifications for campus information systems that can be used to properly and respectfully handle the gender identities, pronouns, and preferred names of students, faculty, and staff in ERP systems at their institutions.

Link to paper: https://library.educause.edu/-/media/files/library/2018/4/ewg1802.pdf

Why Students Cheat (It's not them — it's us)

To tackle student cheating, we need to rethink assignments and classroom culture.

Link to Liberal Education Magazine: https://portal.criticalimpact.com/user/25043/image/LEWI21_digital_winter2021.pdf

UIC Resources to Support Inclusive Teaching

UIC Diversity Education

Vehicles for communicating about diversity and resources for encouraging collaboration.
Inclusive Online Teaching Practices Toolkit

A set of free resources, including 10 inclusive teaching practices.
Inclusive Teaching Essentials Bibliography

Books and research articles to aid in the development of an inclusive curriculum.
Supporting First Gen College Students

Teaching and mentoring strategies to support student academic success.
Veteran Student Support

Student Veterans Affairs is committed to finding and sharing resources, organizations and opportunities that support our veteran and military connected students.

Beyond UIC Resources to Support Inclusive Teaching

ARiA – Anti-Racism in Academia

Resources including Anti-racism 101, recommended books, and anti-racism resources for different institutional roles.
CBE-LSE Inclusive Teaching Guide

Interactive guide explaining the essential elements of inclusive pedagogy based on evidence-based principles.
Columbia University Inclusive Teaching Guide

Five principles to introduce into your teaching to meaningfully engage all students.
DEI Book Recommendations

EDUCAUSE is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Here is a list of books recommended by their members.
Educause Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion resource

Leading change toward diversity is an area of expertise with its own knowledge base and professional practitioners.
Spotlights on STEM

Integrating themes of diversity and inclusion while teaching course content.
USC Syllabus Review Guide

Inquiry tool for promoting racial and ethnic equity and equity-minded practice.
Yale University Diversity and Inclusion Resources

Strategies to support equal access and opportunity for all students to thrive in their academic pursuits.

Professional Learning Opportunities in Inclusive Teaching

Inclusive Education Scholars Certificate Program

UIC online course, learning community, and workshops to help instructors build inclusive classrooms.
EdX Course: Inclusive STEM Teaching

Learn how to cultivate inclusive STEM classrooms and develop as reflective practitioners.
EdX Course: Inclusive Teaching

Explore the principles of inclusive teaching and learn how to apply them in your classroom to support diverse learners.
EdX Course: Teach & Learn in Diverse Classrooms

Learn how to create and sustain inclusive, student-centered learning environments.
Inclusive Classrooms Initiative (ICI)

Construct classroom environments that encourage learning and overall well-being of all UIC students.

Center for the Advancement of Teaching Excellence